“Hey, how are you?”

“Great! How are you?”

“Awesome. How are things?”

“We are doing great! Never been better.”

“Me, too! It doesn’t get much better than this.”

“I know! We’ve never been happier. How are your kids?”

“They are great! How about yours?”

“Oh, they are such blessings. How are things at the office?”

“It couldn’t be any better! How is your wife?”

“Seems like we are more in love today than we’ve ever been.”

“Us, too…” and on and on and on.

Often, the very people having those verbal exchanges are facing financial difficulty, tension in their home, a physical sickness, troubled children, fear of a job loss, personal discouragement or all of the above. Yet we don’t feel like we can “share our burdens,” even with close friends or leaders in the church. Why is that? What is the balance between “hold fast to your profession of faith,” and “bear one another’s burdens,” “weep with those who weep,” or “we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak”?

This subject is probably too involved to tackle in a few paragraphs, but maybe it will stir us to a greater openness to and with people.

Several recent incidents have prompted a lot of thought and prayer on this matter. We’ve all known people, even close Christian friends, who “suddenly” end up in divorce court. They divorce over issues that have built up over months and years. Have you ever wondered why those friends didn’t ask for help? We recently learned that a young woman we met years ago who worked closely with the leadership of one of the largest Christian organizations in the world committed suicide because she found herself in a situation that appeared hopeless. She was in over her head and felt she had nowhere to turn…with Christian leaders all around her.

One of the most tragic incidents concluded with a young friend of ours being sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison. He admitted guilt for crimes that were grievous, and we prayed for all who were adversely affected. I accept the fact that there are repercussions for his actions, yet when I heard the sentence announced, I wept. This young man has been a family friend for over 27 years. He was 4 years old when we first met him, and we saw him nearly every day for over 15 years.

Our typical response when we hear of a Christian caught in sin is to be shocked, but perhaps there should be a pause and some self-examination. Although I knew I wasn’t responsible for this young friend’s sentence, I was open to the fact that maybe I had missed something, somewhere in those 15 years.

I asked Dave these questions: “Is there anything about US that makes people feel they can’t ask us for help? Why weren’t we spiritually sensitive enough to detect that there was a problem? Do we personally or as the Body of Christ create an environment with our shallow conversation and busy life that prevents people from sharing serious issues? Are WE too proud to ask for help when we need it?”

Romans 15:1 in The Message Bible says, “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.” It is very important to remember that the “oppressed” spoken about in Galatians 6:2 aren’t necessarily unsaved people who live across the ocean or on “the wrong side of the tracks.” It could be one of your closest friends, a leader at church, the neighbor you wave to every morning.

These scriptures require action: stoop down, reach out, share their burden, step in, set him right, restore, reinstate, lend a hand.

We must remember that the strength we have been given from God is “for service, not status.”

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